An oil tanker exploded Sunday in the Strait of Hormuz after reportedly striking a mine, according to Iranian state media tied to the country’s military, which also said Tehran had intercepted at least six vessels in the strategic waterway over the previous 24 hours.
The vessel was not immediately identified, but Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-linked Tasnim news agency claimed the tanker had drifted outside Tehran’s approved navigation lane before hitting a sea mine.
Iran has repeatedly cautioned commercial ships against using routes through the Strait of Hormuz that it has not authorized, warning that vessels could face attack as tensions with the United States continue to intensify.
Despite repeated threats from the Trump administration, Iranian authorities continue to assert control over the vital oil transit corridor, with the IRGC claiming it blocked six ships from passing through the strait overnight.
The military force said the vessels were ordered to turn around after attempting what it described as an “unauthorized crossing,” adding that warning shots were fired at the six ships.
The latest reported interceptions followed an IRGC statement that it had stopped four other vessels from trying to cross the strait on Saturday.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint that has historically handled about 20% of the world’s oil supply — has fallen by 70% since a cease-fire collapsed earlier this month, leaving only a few dozen vessels moving through the passage each day.
Most ships still making the crossing are either following Iran’s approved route or relying on so-called shadow-fleet tactics in an effort to slip through the waterway undetected.
Concerns about the world’s oil supply grew after a new flashpoint in Saudi-Houthi relations, with the Iran-backed terrorist attacking tankers linked to the kingdom in the Red Sea.
Tehran’s influence over the waterways caused nearly two weeks of tit-for-tat strikes between the US and Iran, with President Trump warning that full-scale war could break out if the waterway is not open and free to all.
The president, however, halted the attacks over the weekend in favor of pushing for diplomacy.
The pause, however, does not represent a new cease-fire, with Trump insisting that the US was “locked and loaded” if Iran does not submit to his demands.
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